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Airliner Wreckage Moved

1st Memorial Held For Crash Victim

June 06, 1999|By From Tribune News Services.

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS — American Airlines crews dismantled the broken and charred shell of an MD-82 airliner Saturday while mourners attended the first of several memorial services for those killed when Flight 1420 crashed.

Investigators hoped that while moving the wreckage they would learn more about the mechanics of the plane's spoilers, wing panels that slow planes after landing.

Although the co-pilot has said he believes the captain set the spoilers, a flight data recorder indicates they never popped up when the plane landed in a severe thunderstorm Tuesday.

A memorial service was held Saturday in Royal, near Hot Springs, for James Harrison, 21, a Ouachita Baptist University student who was returning from a choir trip. "It was a service where we healed some of our hurt," said crash survivor and fellow student Misha Perkins.

American Airlines is offering $25,000 checks to survivors of the deceased. The money comes with no conditions.